NCJ Number
146719
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 61 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1994) Pages: 31,32,34,37,38,42-47
Date Published
1994
Length
11 pages
Annotation
The author discusses the state of information management in law enforcement agencies.
Abstract
Automation of information management dramatically reduces paperwork, enhances analytical efficiency, and frees officers to spend more time at their primary duties. Yet, it is their preoccupation with those primary duties--catching crooks, for one--that keeps more than 75 percent of agencies behind the times technologically. As well, automation may take a back seat to such nitty-gritty problems as keeping the patrol cars running. In the early 1970's, automation was not feasible for all agencies. Systems were centralized, with all information fed into a mainframe computer. The advent of the personal computer (PC's) has made automation feasible even for small departments and home users. Most departments now fall into one of three stages on the automation scale. Those in the paperwork stage process all records by hand; those in the PC stage process records on a few scattered PC's; and those in the full automation stage use a complete records management system that is linked to every division and to other computers at the State, regional, and national levels. Those in the first two stages should enlist support from political and departmental high- ups in order to sell the idea of full automation. Then, they should conduct a needs assessment, and develop a plan that covers at least the next 5 years and includes a cost-benefit analysis. These steps are presented in detail, as are some specific instances in which automation has proved invaluable.